LONDON — A consortium led by Baugur, the Icelandic investment group, has proposed a bid of 351.4 million pounds, or $664 million, to acquire House of Fraser, the U.K. department store chain.
The bid values the 61-store chain at 1.48 pounds, or $2.79, per share.
Baugur already holds a 9.5 percent stake in House of Fraser. It has joined with retail entrepreneurs Tom Hunter and Kevin Stanford in the effort to purchase the rest of the company.
The parties said in a joint statement last week that the House of Fraser board supported the bid.
Subject to shareholders’ approval, the deal will become effective Nov. 8, and the company would then be delisted from the London Stock Exchange.
“We believe the proposed price represents good value for House of Fraser shareholders, particularly in the context of a challenging trading environment,” said Jon Asgeir Johannesson, president and chief executive officer of Baugur Group, in the statement.
House of Fraser said Baugur planned to review the stores’ product mix and space allocation and focus on both developing new stores and refurbishing existing stores.
Earlier this year, House of Fraser was forced to close two of the high-profile London stores in its portfolio. Its 135-year-old High Street Kensington store, Barkers, shut in January due to a fall in retail traffic in the area. Its Dickins and Jones flagship on Regent Street closed around the same time, as the company was unable to support spiraling rents on the street.
House of Fraser said in the statement that no further store closures were planned.
House of Fraser is the latest in a string of U.K. retail acquisitions for Baugur; the company currently owns several women’s apparel chains, including Jane Norman and MK One, and has a stake in Mosaic Fashions, which incorporates Karen Millen and Whistles.